James
Taylor is best known as the leader of the
James Taylor Quartet – for which see our previous
review. Now here he is with a new quartet,
recorded in January this year. Twenty years
on from the album I reviewed previously, this
marks an improvement in sophistication and
jazz content. There is still that pervasive
boogaloo beat but it’s mixed up with other
elements from the blues, pop and funk. The
rhythm even slows down in Never in My Wildest
Dreams for a thoughtfully laid-back piece
with an eloquent guitar solo from Nigel Price.

However,
many tunes still depend on repetitive riffs
and the style can still sound old-fashioned,
as in Mincemeat which has a feel similar
to the Average White Band’s Pick Up the
Pieces, which was a hit more than 30 years
ago. James still seems to be looking back
as much as forwards.